


Puppet Pals

by fangs_for_the_memories



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Puppets, Sock Puppets, Some angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-05
Updated: 2015-02-06
Packaged: 2018-03-10 14:26:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3293726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangs_for_the_memories/pseuds/fangs_for_the_memories
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Danny has a family emergency and asks Laura for some help, Carmilla finds herself learning things about her girlfriend's past that help her understand Laura better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Angels

**Author's Note:**

> This whole thing was a product of a couple random head canons that'll play out in the next chapter, haha. Enjoy!

Carmilla teleported into her room after feeding, finding that it was empty.  She cursed under her breath and checked her phone for texts from Laura.

“FYI I’m hanging out in Perry and LaF’s room right now :) Happy feeding!”  Carmilla scowled and momentarily debated just lounging around the room waiting for Laura to come back, but she was in a particularly good mood and, truth be told, those two redheads were growing on her.

She walked out of the room and down the hall to the opened door, entering the room.

“Oh!  Hello, Carmilla,” Perry greeted cheerily.  LaFontaine waved.

“Hi.”  Carmilla scanned the room but there was a distinct lack of her cute, sweets-guzzling girlfriend.

“If you’re looking for Laura,” LaFontaine began, “she left with Danny a little while ago to help her with some family emergency.”

Carmilla frowned.  It was well into the spring semester and Danny and Laura had worked hard to become good friends again.  Danny and Carmilla were civil with each other, but barely so.  Still, it was just like Laura to spontaneously run out to help out her friend with a family emergency.

“Where did they go?”

“I think they said Danny’s room,” Perry replied. LaF nodded their head in confirmation.

Carmilla turned to head out, but then pivoted and returned to the doorway.

The two stared at the vampire expectantly.

“Uhm, th-thank you,” Carmilla mumbled.

LaF chuckled and Perry flashed a bright smile. “You are very welcome, Carmilla,” the latter said.

Carmilla averted her gaze and walked away. _You’re going soft, Karnstein_ , she chastised herself.

 

She teleported to right outside the Summer Society living quarters.  There was a general understanding that the Summer Society wouldn’t hunt her down, so long as Carmilla’s feeding habits remained safe for the students on campus. Still, she didn’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable by just teleporting into the middle of their living room.

 _Yup, definitely going soft_.

She knocked on the door and a girl who she vaguely recognized opened the door.

“Hi.  Are Laura and Danny here?”

The tall blonde nodded and gestured for Carmilla to enter.

“Thanks.”  The girl seemed as uncomfortable with the vampire’s developing manners as Carmilla did.  She made her way to Danny’s room, only to find Danny standing outside.  She could hear Laura’s animated voice from within, but the tone sounded different than she had ever heard it.

 

“Xena,” Carmilla greeted.

Danny gave a small wave.  “Elvira.”

Carmilla approached the other girl, who looked like she had been crying.  “What’s going on?”

Danny motioned for Carmilla to peek into her room, so she did.  She saw a small boy sitting on the bed, looking intently at Laura, who was kneeling on the floor next to a small pile of sock puppets.

“That’s my youngest cousin,” Danny began in a hushed voice.  “His parents were killed in a car accident this morning.”  She swallowed hard.

Carmilla bit her lip.  “Sorry for your loss.”  She tried her best to sound warm but she didn’t quite hit the mark.

“Thanks.”  Danny sniffled.  “Anyway, he was in school when it happened, and apparently they listed me as the emergency contact, so I picked him up.”  She sighed. “But I’m already terrible with kids in general and I had no idea what to do with him, so I stopped by the dorm and asked Laura for some help.  And here we are.”

The pair stood there in the doorway and watched as Laura had two sock puppets on.

“Okay, Ollie, I have something that I need to tell you, okay?  It’s not good news, but I’m going to do my best.”  The little boy nodded solemnly.  Laura held up her hands. “Let’s pretend these are your parents.” He nodded again.

 

“Oh, Shane, now that we’ve dropped our son off at school, this is a great time to go run errands together!” Laura gave this puppet a feminine voice. It was messily decorated with red yarn for hair, with exaggerated lips drawn on with a marker.

She picked up another puppet, which had some dark brown yarn and some blue construction paper pasted on it, and deepened her voice. “Why, yes, Ursula, darling, that seems like a marvelous idea!”

The boy, no older than six years old, sat there. Laura removed the puppets and brought out a shoebox with four paper wheels glued on its sides, and placed the puppets inside.  It was also decorated with a windshield, headlights, and a steering wheel.

Laura slowly had the puppets “drive” around the bed for a bit, bumping into him a couple times and making cartoon screams come from the puppets.

Eventually she had them stop moving.

“You know, our son, Oliver, is such an amazing boy,” the male puppet said.

The female puppet nodded.  “Yes, I am so proud of him, and I love him so much.”

Laura pushed the shoebox around the bed for a little bit longer before it moved slowly along the edge and then gently flipped on its side.

She pulled out another shoebox, which was decorated like an ambulance, with two more sock puppets inside it. They were both white and had yarn stethoscopes wrapped around them.  She pushed the “ambulance” towards the turned-over box and removed the two puppets.

“Oh, no!” one exclaimed while the other ran around to check on the car’s passengers.

“We lost them,” the other puppet said, sadly and softly. She looked up at the boy.

“Ollie, do you understand?”

 

The boy looked at Laura with sad eyes. “Did that happen to my parents? I won’t see them again?” he asked sadly.

Danny inhaled deeply and walked into the room. “Yes, Ollie.  Your parents got into a car accident, and the doctors couldn’t save them.” She bit her lip and choked back a sob. “My mom and dad–– Aunt Ada and Uncle Jeremy–– they’re going to take care of you, now.”

His eyes traveled back to Laura, who was maintaining eye contact.  Laura rose from the ground and removed the two paramedic sock puppets from her hands. She pulled him into a one-armed embrace. “Ollie, something terrible happened to you and it’s going to feel terrible for a long, long time. But it’ll get better eventually, and what you have to remember is what your parents said in the car before the accident–– that you’re amazing, and that they’re proud of you, and they love you.”

The young boy buried his face in Laura’s side. “But how do you know that’s what they said?”

Laura rubbed his arm gently.  “Can I let you in on a secret?” she whispered to him, but still loudly enough for Danny and Carmilla to hear.  He nodded, wiping his eyes and sniffling. “My mom died a while ago, and she became an angel.  And she told me that she’s going to help your parents get used to being angels, now, too.”

He gripped the hem of her shirt in his hands and squeezed.  “My mommy and daddy are angels?”

Laura nodded and planted a light kiss on the boy’s head.  “Yes. And I know you’re going to miss them, but it’s important to remember that.”  She picked up the puppets that had represented his parents. “And it’s important to remember how much you meant to them, okay?”

Oliver nodded but peeled himself away from Laura and started crying.  Danny sat on the other side of him and hugged him while Laura slowly got off the bed to allow them to be alone.

Danny mouthed a “thank you” over to Laura, who offered a grim smile in return and joined Carmilla in the hallway.

 

They walked for a bit in silence before Carmilla spoke. “You’re really something, cupcake,” she said, intertwining their fingers.

Laura gave a small chuckle.  “How so?”

“I didn’t know you were so good with kids.”

Laura shrugged.  “I’m not great with them.  But I have younger cousins and Danny just figured I had more experience and could help out with Ollie.”  She bit her lip. “Explaining death to a small child is difficult.”

Carmilla snickered.  “And yet the best you could come up with was a puppet show.”

Laura furrowed her brows.  “What’s wrong with a puppet show?”

“Gee, I don’t know, cupcake,” Carmilla drawled, rolling her eyes, “it’s totally not a dumb way to explain a sad, tragic event at all.”

Laura let go of Carmilla’s hand. “It worked fine with Ollie.”

“It did.”  The vampire quirked an eyebrow.  “I’m just saying, it’s like, some weird default setting for you.  The moment you feel a sad story coming up, you bust out your stupid sock puppets.  Like when I was telling you about what I’d been through.”

Laura narrowed her eyes, scoffed, and walked faster, as if she was trying to leave her girlfriend behind.

 _I totally hit a nerve_. “I’m sorry, cupcake, I didn’t mean to upset you.  I just don’t understand why––”

Laura stopped walking.  “––You know what?  I don’t feel up to going back to the room yet.”

“Okay, well, we can wa––”

“––I’m going to take a walk by myself, see you later.” Laura turned and walked briskly away.

 

Carmilla considered going after her, but she wasn’t quite sure what to say or do once she caught up, so she just returned to their room.

She flopped down on her bed, grabbing a random book off her shelf and flipping it open.  She read and reread the same sentence about a dozen times before she finally sighed and put the book away.  She pulled out her phone and hesitated on the new conversation screen.

“I need some advice,” she typed, and hit “send.”

She waited for a couple minutes before a response came. “Hello, Carmilla. Advice about what?”

Carmilla mentally smacked herself. She had been so desperate for help that she hadn’t even bothered to send a proper greeting.  “Ah, yes, sorry Mr. Hollis.  I need advice about your daughter.”


	2. A Piece of Her

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura's father provides Carmilla with some insight to why Laura got upset. Carmilla decides to show Laura she's trying to understand her. Fluff ensues.

Carmilla waited for a reply.

“I’ve told you, Carmilla, you can call me ‘Christoph,’ or ‘Chris.’  Now, what did you do to my daughter?”  A few seconds passed before another message popped up.  “Just kidding.  How can I help you?” Carmilla smiled at the response. Shortly after the semester started, Laura got a call from her father saying he had seen her videos and wanted to see her.  So there had been a nerve-wracking trip home, which apparently was more of a formality than anything. Chris had been so impressed with Carmilla’s devotion for Laura that he gave them his blessings, with the stipulation that Carmilla continue to look out for Laura, and add his number to her contacts–– just in case.  In the following months, she somehow wound up regularly texting him once a week with an update to remain on his good side.  In spite of his overprotectiveness, she found him to be quite warm, loving, and accepting.

Carmilla took a deep breath before she sent the next text.  “Danny’s cousin’s parents passed away and she asked Laura to help.  Laura put on a puppet show for him.  I teased her afterwards and she seemed hurt and stormed off.”

“I see.”

“I guess I just wanted to know why puppet shows are a coping mechanism for her, and why she took it so personally when I mocked her about it.”

There were several indications that Chris started to type and then stopped before a final one was sent.  “May I call you?”

“Yes, you may.”

 

Carmilla’s phone rang and she answered. “Hello, sir,” Carmilla greeted. “I’m not bothering you, am I?”

There was a chuckle.  “No, Carmilla.  I just figured this conversation would be easier if done verbally. Call me old-fashioned.”

Carmilla laughed.

“Ah, I guess that came out more ironic than I intended, didn’t it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Carmilla, I’ve also asked that you please don’t call me ‘sir.’  You’re older than me, anyway.”

“Okay. Chris.”

“That’s better.”  There was some rustling.  “Now, you asked about Laura and her puppet shows, right?”

“Yes.”

He sighed.  “How much has Laura told you about her mother?”

Carmilla frowned.  “Just that she died in a car accident when Laura was six years old.”

She had learned about this a few weeks ago when she came back from feeding, only to find Laura crying in the bathroom. It was the anniversary of her mom’s death and Laura had almost forgotten until her dad called. She’d felt so guilty and Carmilla did her best to comfort her, but she knew she hadn’t done a great job. Laura didn’t seem to hold it against Carmilla, but if tonight’s outburst was _also_ related to her mother…

 

“Yes.  They were very close.  A lot of Laura’s personality–– her drive, her outgoingness, and her unwavering optimism–– she got from her mother.  They did everything together. I had…  I had never seen my wife so happy before Laura came along.”

His voice cracked, so he cleared his throat and continued.

“One of their favorite things to do together was put on these silly but elaborate puppet shows.  They’d assemble a quick stage, some props, and make these hilariously bad sock puppets.”  He gave a small chuckle.

“All of my wife’s sisters had grown up putting on the same shows, and they grew out of it.  But, oh, she seemed so happy to share this with Laura.”

He paused for a second, clearly reminiscing. “When she passed away, Laura was still a bit too young to fully grasp what happened.  I tried rephrasing it but it was so difficult.” Carmilla heard him swallow hard. “I finally contacted one of my sister-in-laws to ask for help, and they all came over and did a puppet show. After that, Laura stopped putting them on.  That is, until she had younger cousins, but even then, it was more for their benefit than anything else.”

“I see.”

“Carmilla, puppet shows aren’t so much a coping mechanism for her as they are a way for her to connect to her mother. The fact that she did a puppet show in front of you just meant she trusted you enough to share that piece of herself with you.”

 

Carmilla almost dropped her phone. It had been bad enough that she had teased her girlfriend about the sock puppet show she had done with Ollie. She had known Danny and Carmilla for a long time that sharing that with them, although sweet, wouldn’t have been such a large surprise.  But Carmilla’s mind traveled back to that first sock puppet show that had been for Carmilla alone.

The one Laura had done right after finding out Carmilla was a vampire accomplice in a girl-sacrificing scheme for centuries. It had always shocked Carmilla that Laura didn’t react as Elle had at finding out she was a vampire. Laura continued to treat Carmilla as if almost nothing changed between them.  She made her feel like she belonged, like she deserved every chance she could get to act like a human girl, like she _mattered_.

And now Carmilla learned that not only was Laura’s immediate reaction at finding out she was a vampire was one of acceptance, but that the girl had tried to share a very private, loving part of her. It was as if that puppet show had been Laura’s way of saying, “Okay, you’re a vampire, and I accept that, and here’s my way of trying to understand this very dark thing that’s happened to you.”

And what had she done?  She’d scoffed at it and called it stupid.

 _She probably thinks I_ am _a monster, now_.

 

“Are you still there?” Chris asked softly.

Carmilla realized she was crying and wiped away her tears.  “Yes. I-I, uhm…  Yes.”

“You’re thinking about the puppet show she put on after she found out you were a vampire, aren’t you?”  His voice was gentle.

Carmilla gave a wry chuckle.  “Mr. Holl–– Chris.”  She cleared her throat.  “Laura is so lucky to have a father like you.”

There was a hearty laugh on the other end. “And Laura is lucky to have a girlfriend like you.”

“I’m not sure if she’ll still have me after tonight. I was–– ah–– quite insensitive tonight, sir.”

Another laugh.  “Carmilla, if I know my Laura, she will not break up with you over something like this.  Especially given that at the time you didn’t know why she was so upset. She’s tougher than either of us give her credit for.  Just give her the time or space she needs.”

Carmilla sighed.  “I will.”

“Okay.  I’m going to go now.  I hope I was helpful?”

“Very helpful.  Thank you so much, Chris.”

“Good.”  He suddenly took on a serious tone.  “And, Carmilla?”

“Yes?”

“If I ever find out you _are_ insensitive to her on purpose, calling me ‘Chris’ will be the least of our problems.”  His tone changed back to its normal lighthearted warmth.  “Do you understand me?”

Carmilla chuckled.  “Completely understood.”

“Fantastic.  Good night.”

“Good night.”

* * *

Laura approached the door to room 307 a few hours later to find the door was locked.  She continued to jiggle the doorknob.

“Carm?  We never lock the door so I don’t have the key on me.”  She didn’t sound angry, just tired and mildly annoyed. “Carm, are you in there?”

Carmilla unlocked the door and cracked it open so only her face was visible.

Laura’s bunched up face slowly relaxed and she let out a small giggle.  “What are you doing, you silly vampire?”

Carmilla visibly relaxed. “Before I let you enter, you have to promise that what’s about to happen is never to be spoken about to anyone else.  Ever.”

 “Is it R-rated?” she asked, narrowing her eyes before grinning.

Carmilla rolled her eyes.  “No.  Now, promise.”

“Uh, I promise?”

Carmilla opened the door all the way and led Laura in. The room was dimly lit by some of the lamps. The computer chair was in the middle of the room.  There was a closed box near it.  “Sit down, cupcake.”

Laura sat down, hesitant.

Carmilla knelt in front of her and opened the box. In it were two sock puppets. One was entirely black, with orange buttons for eyes and red construction paper for lips.  The other was beige, with yarn glued on to exaggerate girly eyelashes.

“Oh my goodness, Carm,” Laura laughed.

Carmilla smiled back.   “Remember your promise.”

“I remember.”  Laura nodded emphatically.

 

“Good.”  Carmilla pulled the sock puppets out of the box.  “Hi, cupcake,” the black one said seductively.

“Oh God, you’re so sexy,” the beige one said, her voice slightly more shrill.

Laura gave her a playful smack.

The Carmilla puppet moved closer to the Laura puppet. “That’s right, I’m such a broody vampire.  I could just _eat you alive_.”

“That’s true.”  The Laura puppet inched closer.

“Then why are you still here, cutie?”

“Because I’m a stubborn, obstinate, sugar-filled idiot.”  Laura feigned a look of offense and then giggled with a smile plastered across her face.

“Well, I spoke to your dad on the phone, babe. And apparently you’re also the stupid, sweetest thing to ever happen to me.”

“Uh, yeah, I just said that!”

“You’re so oblivious.  I meant, he explained to me why you do puppet shows.”

Laura stopped smiling.

Carmilla gulped but continued with the black puppet. “He told me about how your mom and your aunts would do puppet shows and that it’s a thing very near and dear to your heart, and that by putting them on in front of me, it’s a way to show me that part of you.”

“Uh huh,” Puppet Laura confirmed, nodding emphatically.

“I was a moron for calling puppet shows stupid and I’m sorry.  Can you forgive me?”

Carmilla removed the puppets and looked at Laura in the eyes.

“Well?  Can you?”

 

Laura leaned forward and kissed Carmilla. Carmilla kissed back and Laura pulled her in to deepen it, wrapping one arm around her waist and placing a hand at the back of her neck.

Laura eventually pulled away.

“Is that a ‘no?’”

Laura giggled.  “There’s nothing to forgive, you goofball.”

“I never meant to devalue what puppet shows mean to you.”  Carmilla leaned her forehead against Laura’s.  “And I am so honored that you shared that part of you with me, buttercup.”

Laura pouted and flashed her puppy eyes. “You don’t think it’s stupid?”

Carmilla kissed her nose.  “If it’s important to you, it’s not stupid. I never want to make you feel like you don’t matter.”

Laura pulled her vampire into a warm hug and nuzzled her face into her neck.  “You matter, too.  You matter to me. You know that, right?” She pulled away and scanned Carmilla’s face but found it unreadable.  “I know sometimes you feel like you don’t, because of whatever stupid lies your mother fed you, but _I_ care what you think… so you matter.”

Carmilla laughed dryly.  “If you say so, creampuff.”

 

Laura bent down and picked up Puppet Carmilla. She deepened her voice. “I like staring at the stars and that makes me feel _sooo_ _insignificant_.” 

She picked up Puppet Laura.  “No, Carm!  You matter!”

Puppet Carmilla gave an exaggerated huff. “I do not.  I’m just a creature of the darkness.”

“But, Carmilla, I _loooooove_ you!”  Laura crashed the puppets together, having them make out while she giggled.

 

Carmilla sniggered.  “You ‘ _loooooove’_ me?”

Laura rolled her eyes and removed Puppet Carmilla. “Yeah, duh.”  She nudged Carmilla with her elbow.  “Who’s the oblivious one, now?”

Carmilla smirked at her tiny girlfriend.

 

Her girlfriend, who had never regarded her as a monster.

Her girlfriend, who had tried to share a piece of herself when she saw that Carmilla was doing the same.

Her girlfriend, who was so loving and forgiving.

Her girlfriend, who loved her.

 

Laura waved a hand in front of Carmilla’s face, still wrapped in a sock puppet.  “Hellooooo, Carm?  Planet Cupcake to Carmilla Karnstein, can you hear me…?”

Carmilla smiled and picked up Puppet Carmilla. “I love you too,” Puppet Carmilla said, giving Puppet Laura a kiss.

Laura squealed and beamed at her girlfriend.

“You’re such a dork.”

Laura flashed a proud grin.

“Laura?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for sharing this with me.”

Laura gave Carmilla a kiss on the cheek. When she pulled away, Carmilla saw that her girlfriend was crying.

“Hey,” she said softly.  “What’s wrong?”

Laura shrugged and wiped away the tears. “I just can’t remember the last time I enjoyed sock puppets this much.  It’s like…”  She took a deep, shaky breath. “It’s like having my mom back.”

 

Carmilla kissed Laura gently. “Wanna make a sock puppet of your mom to join our sock puppets?”

Laura nodded, laughing, and gave Carmilla another kiss. She bounced off to go look for another sock.

Carmilla sat and watched Laura’s eyes light up as she found a nice white one.

 _Maybe going soft isn’t too bad, after all_.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the feedback and for reading, guys!! <3 You're the best!


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